Container for timed release of substances

ABSTRACT

A container suitable for holding at least one substance for use in a process for cleaning contact lenses using a fluid, includes at least one first and at least one second part assembled to form a sealed cavity for holding the substance, the first and the second parts being formed of a material having an expansion coefficient when embedded in the fluid. The dimensioning of the first and the second parts and the expansion coefficients are chosen so that, subsequent to the expansion of the first and/or the second parts, an opening is defined between the first and the second parts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the art of for cleaning contact lensesand in a specific embodiment to apparatus for performing a multi-stepcleansing of contact lenses where, during a first step, cleansing isperformed using a high and substantially constant concentration of thecleansing agent or agents in the cleansing fluid and where, during asecond, subsequent step, the cleansing agent or agents are neutralizedand/or the cleansing fluid is altered in order to make the cleansedcontact lenses more suitable for insertion onto a users eyes.

2. Description of the Related Art

A high concentration of the cleaning substance in the cleaning fluid isrequired, because some of the impurities usually deposited on the lensesrequire a long exposure time to a disinfection fluid, e.g. hydrogenperoxide with a concentration of 3-4 vol. %, in order to be removed.Examples of such impurities are acanthameoba, candida albicans, yeastcells, different vira and different bacteria spores. These impuritiesare known to be very resistant to commonly used disinfection fluids, soin order to remove such impurities, a long exposure time is requiredwith a high concentration of the active substance in the disinfection orcleansing fluid.

Furthermore, e.g. bacteria can excrete chemical/biological substanceswhich can encapsulate the bacteria, i.e. form a film ofchemical/biological substances which adhere to the surface of a contactlens. Thus, a long exposure time is also required in order for thedisinfection or cleansing fluid to penetrate and thereby remove thebacteria and bacteria spores and the film of chemical/biologicalsubstances.

In fact, most of the presently known apparatus and methods may bedenoted as bacteriostatic in that the interaction with the cleansingfluid is only sufficient for maintaining a level of bacterialcontamination in the container used for holding the contact leans duringcleansing.

Known apparatus for cleansing contact lenses are typically ones in whichthe contact lens and the cleansing fluid are introduced into acontainer. However, in order to avoid requiring that the user himselfhas to introduce an agent for neutralizing the cleansing fluid (in orderto render the contact lens suitable for introduction onto the userseye), this neutralizing agent is introduced from the beginning of theprocess. Consequently, the neutralization of the cleansing fluid takesplace during the full process, whereby the concentration of thecleansing agent is only optimum for a short period of time. Naturally,this requires a longer period of time for a suitable cleansing of thecontact lens.

Apparatus which attempt to postpone the active neutralization process ofthe disinfection fluid are known from EP 2 658 422. In this apparatusthe neutralizing agent is placed in the container wherein thedisinfection process takes place by means of a mechanical device. Thismechanical device can be driven by an electric motor or it can be drivenmanually.

Another apparatus which attempts to postpone the relief of aneutralising agent is known from GB 2 301 1 98 A. In this apparatus theneutralising agent is kept in a cavity defined by a tubular part beingopen ended in one end only. The cavity is sealed by a lid settled insidethe tubular part, which lid swells when in contact with a disinfectingfluid. As the lid is settled inside the tubular part, a cavity, definedby side parts of the tubular part and the lid, is present on top of thelid. Due to the small dimension of the apparatus and the surface tensionin the disinfecting fluid, air bubbles will tend deposit in this cavityin use. If an air bubble deposits in the cavity, access to the surfaceof the lid is hindered and the swelling process will not take place,whereby no access for the cleaning fluid to the neutralising agent isprovided and the neutralisation process does not take place.Furthermore, the introduction of the apparatus into a receptacle usedfor the cleaning process is critical in the sense that no swelling ofthe lid will occur, if the apparatus “lands” standing on its open end,due to the fact that no fluid or not a sufficient amount of the fluidwill be able to get into contact with the lid.

Other manners of delaying the introduction of the neutralizing agentwould be using the well known sustained release principle where theagent is formed into a pill or pellet covered by a layer dissolved bythe cleansing agent. In this manner, the neutralizing agent is notreleased until the layer has been dissolved. This method, however, hasthe disadvantage that the material of the layer and e.g. pillmanufacturing helping agents will be released to the cleansing agent,part of which will be introduced onto the eye of the user or will remainin the container means used for the cleansing. These materials aretypically of a type that attracts and holds bacteria and, consequently,facilitates bacterial growth in the container means and hence on thecontact lenses.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a container means foruse in cleansing a contact lens, which firstly is able to reduce orfully obviate the introduction of unsuitable agents (mostly agentsirritating to the eye) in the cleansing fluid, and which secondly isadapted to fully delay the neutralization of the cleansing agent untilafter a desired period of time where the contact lens has beensufficiently cleansed. Both these objects will help to reduce thebacterial growth in the container used for the cleansing and thereby theconcentration of bacterial present on the cleansed contact lens. Thus,the present method will facilitate bactericide cleansing—that is, acleansing actually reducing the number of bacteria in the container and,thus, on the cleansed contact lens.

These objects are obtained by a container means suitable for holding atleast one substance for use in a process for cleaning contact lensesusing a fluid, the container means comprising:

at least one first and at least one second part assembled/combined toform a sealed cavity for holding the at least one substance,

the second part(s) being formed of a material having a second expansioncoefficient when embedded in the fluid and being at least substantiallyinsoluble in the fluid, the second part(s) having outer surface(s)constituting part(s) of an outer surface of the container means,

the first part(s) being formed of a material having a first expansioncoefficient when embedded in the fluid and being at least substantiallyinsoluble in the fluid, the first expansion coefficient being smallerthan the second expansion coefficient,

wherein

the container means has at least one cross section wherein the firstpart(s) define(s) an envelope curve and wherein at least one part of thesecond part(s) extend(s) outside the envelope surface,

and/or

two or more parts of the outer surface of the assembled/combinedcontainer means are constituted by surface parts of the second part(s)at at least two different sides thereof.

It should be noted that, in the present context, an expansioncoefficient may be negative so that the material, in fact, shrinks whenin contact with the fluid.

In the following, the invention will be described where one of thematerials expands more than the other. It should be noted that exactlythe same effect will be achieved if the other material shrinkscorrespondingly in relation to the first material.

The material being able to expand should be at least substantiallyinsoluble in the so as to avoid polution of the fluid used in theprocess for cleaning contact lenses. Polution may e.g. be the case wherethe material is no longer interconnected so that the material is able todeposit on the lenses. It is preferred that the fraction of the materialno longer being interconnected should be less than 5%, preferably lessthan 4%, such as less than 3%, preferably less than 2%, such as lessthan 1%, preferably less than 0.5, even less than 0.25% and preferablyless than 0.125%, the amount being measured in mass fraction.

In the following context, the envelope curve is a curve where allconcavities are replaced by straight lines so that only convexities andstraight lines remain.

One advantage obtained by part of the second part extending outside theenvelope curve of the first parts is that should the container means“land” on a surface in the area where the cavities of the first part(s)are, the part(s) of the second parts will extend beyond these parts,whereby the fluid will gain access to these part(s) of the second parts.If the first part(s) and a bubble or a receptacle holding the containermeans, the fluid etc. were to be able to fully enclose the outer surfaceof the first part(s), no release of the substance would take place.Thus, this feature of the invention will act to enhance the chance ofthe release of the substance taking place.

Also, when the part(s) of the second part(s) extends outside theenvelope, it will be less probable for a bubble to cover all of theextending part(s), whereby also this effect is made much moreimprobable.

In this context, the fact that parts of different sides of the outersurface of the container means are constituted by parts of the secondpart(s) means that should the container means “land” on one of thosesides, the other side will not be blocked by the contact between thecontainer means and a receptacle holding the container means, the fluidetc.

More specifically, two different sides would typically be differentparts of the container means as seen from two directions at an angle ofat least 20 degrees, preferably at least 30 degrees, such as at least 45degrees, preferably at least 60 degrees, such as at least 90 degrees,preferably on the order of 180 degrees.

An advantage obtained by this feature is the fact that, should one sidebe blocked either by a bubble or by the container means “landing” onthat side, the other side would typically be exposed to the fluid,whereby the release of the substance will not be hampered.

The fluid used may simply be water and the substance a disinfecting orcleansing agent, such as an enzyme, or the fluid may itself be adisinfecting or cleansing fluid and the substance a neutralising agent.Common to the process or holding means is the fact that the access tothe substance is delayed in order to divide the cleansing process intotwo distinctly different phases—one with and one without the interactionof the substance.

In a preferred embodiment, the first part defines an open cavity and thesecond part defines a cover at least substantially closing the cavity ofthe first part.

In this embodiment, the second part may abut the first part along aninner or an outer surface part thereof, at least part of the inner orouter surface part of the first part being at an angle to thepredetermined direction. In this manner, the difference of expansionwill generate access to the substance, as two parts of the first andsecond parts, respectively, abutting in the unexpanded state of theholding means, will not expand to the same degree, whereby the abutmentwill be removed and, consequently, an opening be generated.

Alternatively or additionally, the second part may abut the first partalong an end surface part thereof, the end surface part typicallycorresponding to e.g. the upper edge of a cup or similar container.

In this situation, the difference in expansion will not automaticallygenerate access to the substance, as the expansion of two abutting parts(as above) will be in substantially the same direction. Therefore, thedifference in expansion should be large enough for the abutting surfaceparts of the first and second parts to disengage and thereby form accessto the substance in the holding means. In other words, the dimensioningof the first and second parts and the first and second expansioncoefficients are preferably chosen so that, subsequent to the expansionof the first and/or second parts, an opening is defined between thefirst and second parts and at the at least part of the end surface part.Thus, if the abutting surface parts form eg a circle, the difference inexpansion is preferably larger than the largest thickness of theabutting surface parts in order to ensure that a gap is formed.

In the preferred embodiment, the second part preferably has a tubularpart, an outer edge portion of which is to be exposed to the fluid. Thistubular part has an advantage when the expansion of the first and/orsecond parts is e.g. a swelling. The swelling of a tubular part is anoverall increase in the diameter or dimensions of the tubular part. Whenthe outer edge portion is to be exposed to the fluid, the expansion willbe quickest at this edge portion so that the expansion of the tubularpart will be a funnel-shaped deformation due to the expansion along thefull circumference pressing the expanded material outwards.

In another embodiment, the first part defines a plurality of opencavities, the second part defining a cover at least substantiallyclosing the cavities of the first part.

As will be clear from the following, this funnel-shaped deformation mayalso be used for timing the release of several substances in the fluid.

It may be preferred that the first part defines a plurality of opencavities, the second part defining a cover at least substantiallyclosing the cavities of the first part. In this situation, it may bedesired that access to substances present in the individual cavities istimed differently.

One manner of obtaining this timing is one wherein the plurality of opencavities are positioned at least substantially concentrically and areseparated by separating walls of the first part. Naturally, thesecavities need not be circular.

In this situation, the tubular part preferably encircles an outer cavityof the open cavities in order to take advantage of the above-mentionedfunnel-shaped deformation.

Preferably, the first and second parts are biased towards each other. Asthose first parts of the second part which firstly deform and expandwill typically be the outer parts thereof, these will not be suitablefor providing this biasing: they would quickly release the closure andthereby provide access to the contents of all cavities in the firstelement. Therefore, this biassing may be obtained by biassing theseparating walls of the first part toward internal biassing means of thesecond part, the separating walls and/or the biassing means closing, atleast in an unexpanded state, one of the cavities of the first part.This closure may be obtained by the closing action of the first partbeing kept in place by the biassing. In this manner, the access tocontents of this one cavity will be prevented at the point in time whereaccess is obtained to the outer cavity.

In that situation, the thickness of the biassing means and/or especiallythe part of the second part defining the closure of the at least one ofthe cavities may be adapted so that the opening of this cavity takesplace a predetermined time after contacting the holding means and thefluid or after the point in time where the fluid gained access the outercavities.

Another manner of providing a plurality of cavities is aligning theseside by side in the first part, the open cavities being separated byseparating walls. In this situation, the tubular part is preferablypositioned so as to have an axis of symmetry along the aligned opencavities.

The funnel-shaped deformation of the tubular part naturally depends onthe manner in which the expansion takes place along the circumference ofthe tubular part. Preferably, the outer edge portion is positioned atleast substantially within a plane, such as within a few times thethickness of the material of the first or second parts at that position,in order to ensure that the expansion of the material in fact providesthe funnel-shaped deformation.

As described above, the funnel-shaped deformation is generated by theouter parts of the tubular part expanding more quickly than the morecentral parts thereof. As this deformation has the above advantages, itis preferred that, at the outer edge portion, the second part has,compared to a main part of the second part, a larger proportion of thepart of the surface thereof to be exposed to the fluid in relation tothe volume of the material. This may be provided by increasing thesurface to be exposed to the fluid but also by reducing e.g. thethickness of the material of the second element compared to thethickness at other parts of the second part.

Thus, by selecting the thickness of the material of the second part,timing of the release of the individual substances may be selected, suchas in a way that e.g. only a short time is needed for getting access toa first closed cavity due and e.g. a relatively longer time period isneeded to gain access to a second closed cavity. In such a case,thickness of the second part that is closing the first cavity would besubstantially thinner than the part closing the second cavity.

As described above, it is preferred that the first and the second partare biased toward each other.

For example, the first and the second parts may be shaped so as to becombined without the use of any separate fixing or combining means.

Alternatively, two parts actually defining the cavity may be providedand assembled using a separate fixing means, such as a fixing meansholding the two parts in place, the fixing means having a coefficient ofexpansion larger than the two elements so that the fixing means will, ata point in time, release the two parts so that these may separate andrelease the substance held thereby.

The lack of glue or other additional substances has e.g. the advantagethat no additional substances, such as glue etc, are required in orderto hold the two parts in place during the first part of the cleansingprocess. These additional substances might not be desired in thecleansing fluid, as part of this might adhere to the contact lens whenintroduced onto the eye of the user.

The above embodiment has been described as one where the first partdefines a cavity and the second part closes the cavity. Naturally thesame advantages and effect may obtained when the second part defines acavity and the first closes the cavity.

The first expansion coefficient may be one where a sheet of the materialof the first part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpanded conditionwill expand to a mean thickness of 0.5-10 mm, such as a thickness of0.7-1.5 mm, preferably a thickness of 1 mm, when fully expanded in thefluid.

The second expansion coefficient may be one where a sheet of thematerial of the second part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpandedcondition will expand to a mean thickness of 1-10 mm, such as athickness of 1.2-5 mm, preferably a thickness of 1.4-2 mm, when fullyexpanded in the fluid.

However, such materials can have an even larger expansion once thesubstance has been released into the fluid. The presently preferredmaterial has an expansion of the order of 200% in the H2O2 but on theorder of more than 500% in pure water which would results from anneutralisation of the H2O2 with catalase.

Preferably, the second expansion coefficient is larger than the firstexpansion coefficient, and the materials of the first and second partsare preferably so that an initial, unexpanded sheet of the material ofthe second part and of a predetermined thickness will expand to a sheetof a mean thickness of at least 105%, such as at least 110%, such asabout at least 140% of the mean thickness of a fully expanded sheet ofthe material of the first material and of the same initial unexpandedpredetermined thickness.

Especially in embodiments where the part having the largest expansion ispositioned more or less within the other part, it may be preferred thatthe first part is provided with means for facilitating deformation orbreaking thereof at one or more predetermined points or along one ormore predetermined lines in order for the expansion of the expandingpart to be able to provide the access to the substance by simplybreaking or deforming the other part.

Also, in this context, it should be noted that the “expansion” of one ofthe elements in relation to the other may as well be a shrinking of theother element in relation to the first element. In order to provide theaccess of the fluid to the substance, only a difference in change ofdimension is required.

As described above, a major problem of the prior art is the action ofbubbles blocking the access of the fluid to the expanding material orthat the relatively non-expanding material is able together with thereceptacle is able to block this access.

This adverse effect may be removed where the at least one part of thesecond part(s) extending outside the envelope surface has a part beingconvex. In this manner, if the extending part actually forms a convexpart of the outer surface of the container means, this convexity mayprevent the container means from actually “landing” on this side. Also,bubbles are less probable to form on such convex surfaces.

In order to further improve the probability of the container meansactually being oriented in the fluid in the optimum manner, thecontainer means may further comprise orientation means for orientationof the container means relative to the horizontal direction whenpositioned in a receptacle, the receptacle being adapted to hold thecontainer means, the contact lenses, and the fluid when the contactlenses are cleaned.

In this manner, the orientation means may be adapted to hold thecontainer means with its axis of symmetry being substantiallyhorizontal.

Also, having introduced this “additional” element, it may be used alsofor other purposes. Thus, it may further comprise enclosing means forenclosing the container means. As described above, the expandingmaterial may have a total degree of expansion to a degree where it isquite large and may interact, when the user retrieves the contactlenses. Also, if the shape of the expanded material should look like acontact lens, it would be desirable to “separate” it from the lenses inorder to prevent the user from introducing the wrong element ontohis/her eye.

Therefore, the enclosing means may comprise a porous or liquidpenetrable means being adapted to allow the fluid to travel into theenclosing means and to prevent at least a major part of the expandedsecond part(s) from escaping the enclosing means.

In addition, the orientation means may further comprise means forholding the contact lenses during cleansing thereof.

As described above, the shape and dimensions of the container means hasa large say in how and where bubbles form and how the container meanscan “land” in the receptacle.

In a presently preferred embodiment, the container means is flat in agiven direction when compared with the extension thereof in the twodirections perpendicular thereto and to each other.

This is especially easy to see, when combined with the directing means,as these dimensions may now firstly ensure that the “lid” of expandablematerial actually gains access to the fluid, that it actually expands,that it actually provides sufficient access to the substance so that theinteraction between the substance and the fluid actually takes place.

Yet another problem in this type of container means for providing atimed release of a substance in a fluid will be seen when theinteraction between the fluid and the substance generates e.g. a gas. Aswill be clear, the expansion of the expandable material may not fullyremove this from the substance or provide a large gap for the fluid toenter through—and the gas to escape through. In this situation, theaccess of the fluid to the substance may generate an increased pressureat the substance so that the expanded material is removed further—anadvantageous effect. However, it may otherwise generate a gas bubblethat will not escape through the gap but actually block the gap—andthereby stop the process even though the material has had sufficientaccess to the fluid and is fully expanded.

In this specific embodiment, the container means is positioned with thegiven direction along a horizontal direction.

Preferably, the extension of the container means along the givendirection is at least 2, such as 3, preferably 4, such as about 5, suchas at least 6, preferably 10, such as 20, such as about 30, preferably50, such as 70, preferably 85 such as 100 times smaller than theextension of the container means along any of the two directions.

Also, it is advantageous that the extension of the container means inthe given direction is less than 2 mm, such as less than 1.5 mm,preferably 1 mm, such as about 0.75 mm such as at least 0.5 mm and evenless than 0.3 mm.

Especially where:

the first part(s) define a cavity having a bottom part and side partsand wherein the second part(s) in the assembled/combined container meansclose the cavity of the first part(s),

an internal height of the side parts from an internal surface part ofthe bottom part is less than 2 mm, such as less than 1.5 mm, preferably1 mm, such as about 0.75 mm such as at least 0.5 and even less than 0.2mm, and where

the second part(s) define a cavity, the cavity having a depth in thedirection of the axis of symmetry, not exceeding 2 mm, such as notexceeding 1.5 mm, preferably not exceeding 1 mm, such as about notexceeding 0.5 mm, and even not exceeding 0.1 mm,

it will be seen that the expanded second part(s) will easily disengagefrom the first part(s) and due to the interaction of gravity be fullyremoved from the cavity of the first part(s) holding the substance.

Also preferred is it when the container means has an axis of symmetrydirected at least substantially along the direction of the height of theside parts of the second part(s).

From the above dimensions it may be seen that the height of the sideparts are not able to hold a bubble, whereby that “trap” is avoided.However, it is also preferred that the first part is not able to trap abubble. Therefore, it is preferred that the second part(s) define acavity, the cavity having a depth in the direction of the axis ofsymmetry, not exceeding 2 mm, such as not exceeding 1.5 mm, preferablynot exceeding 1 mm, such as about not exceeding 0.5 mm, and even notexceeding 0.1 mm. Dimensions that small will under usual conditions nothold a bubble large enough to stop the process.

An additional manner of ensuring that the process will take place is toensure that and the substance will be able to fully remove itselftherefrom when the expanded material is fully expanded. One manner ofobtaining this is to have the second part(s) define a cavity, the cavitybeing shaped so that, when the axis of symmetry is at leastsubstantially horizontal, no part of the inner surface of the cavity ishorizontal. Thus, the substance positioned within the cavity will fallfrom this cavity, when the container means is oriented in the preferredmanner.

Even though the “expansion” due to the contact of the fluid may becaused by a number of effects, such as due to a pH value of the fluid ora concentration of one or more salts—or even the temperature of thefluid, it is preferred that at least one of the first or second parts isof a material swelling when in contact with the fluid. This swellingfirstly takes part at the surface parts contacted by the fluid andfirstly later the fluid enters the inner parts of the material and thenexpands these portions. This will provide the above-mentionedfunnel-shaped deformation as an intermediate state and a final, fullyexpanded state of the material. Furthermore, the swelling is an effectwhere the swelling material simply expands but does not release,generate or emit any particles or substances, it does not react with thefluid in a manner so that additional substances are formed, whereby theabove-mentioned advantages also relating to the lack of glue etc. in thecombining or assembling of the container means are obtained.

In fact, a material, such as polyhema, normally used for contact lensesactually expands (polyhema expands about 40%) when in contact withwater, and materials (not expanding in water) typically used forcontainers for holding or cleansing contact lenses may be used in thepresent container means. The advantage of this is that these materialshave already been accepted for use in connection with contact lenscleansing so that no side effects can take place.

Another advantage of the invention is that a cleansing system may beprovided which can facility cleaning of contact lenses using differentcleansing agents which can not coexist. This is possible because therelease of the cleansing agents can be timed so that e.g. after acleansing process using one agent, another agent can be released.

Another possibility is the case where H₂O₂ with a pH-value of 3-3.5 isutilized as the disinfection fluid (in order to get a bactericidecleansing of the lenses), a release of an agent that can alter thepH-value of the cleansing fluid at the end of the cleaning process to avalue that is comfortable to the user when introducing the contact lensonto the eye. This altering or neutralizing agent may be catalase. Also,at the same time, before or after, a salt may be released into the fluidin order to bring about a physiological salt concentration also morepleasant for the user of the contact lens.

In addition, the use of different enzymes, which are not able to coexistor which function better when not coexisting, may be facilitated by thepresently provided different timing between the release of differentsubstances in the fluid.

The actual timing of the release or different releases may depend on thewishes of the user or the demands of the cleansing process. Differentholding means may be provided for eg long term (or optimal) cleansingand shorter term (and thus less optimal) cleansing. A long termcleansing may be one taking place over night—such as where the substanceor at least one of the substances is/are not released before after 2hours, such as after 4 hours, such as after 6 hours. A short termcleansing may be one where the or a substance is released after no morethan 2 hours, such as no more than 1 hour, such as no more than ½ hour.

In the situation where the last substance to be released is one actuallystopping the cleansing process, this would be that described above.Other substances may, however, be released before in the process of—oractually starting—the cleansing process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be described by way of examplesillustrating preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to thedrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a container means in a first embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the container means of FIG. 1 in the firstembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container means of FIG. 1 alongline I—I, in the first embodiment in the invention.

FIG. 4 shows an open state of the container means of FIG. 1, in thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the container means in a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the container means in a thirdembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the container means in a fourthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the container means for holding a disinfectionagent and/or neutralizing agent in a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the container means of FIG. 8 alongline I—I in the fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 shows a semi-open state of the container means of FIG. 8, in thefifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 shows an open state of the container means of FIG. 8, in thefifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of a container means for holding adisinfection agent and/or a neutralizing agent in a sixth embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 13 shows a semi-open state of the container means of FIG. 12, inthe sixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 shows an open state of the container means of FIG. 12, in thesixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view of the container means in a seventhembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 shows an open state of the container means of FIG. 15, in theseventh embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of the container means in an eighthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view of the container means in a ninthembodiment of the invention, the container means is shown in apre-assembled/precombined state.

FIG. 19 is a cross sectional view of the container means of FIG. 18shown in an assembled/combined state.

FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view of the container means of FIGS. 18 and19 shown in an opened state.

FIG. 21 is a cross sectional view of the ninth embodiment of thecontainer means, the container means constituting af part of anorientation means.

FIG. 22 is a cross sectional view of the ninth embodiment of thecontainer means being constituting constituting a part of an orientationmeans, the orientation means being part of an enclsosing means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following it is assumed that hydrogen peroxide is utilized as thedisinfection fluid and that (enzyme) catalase is utilized as aneutralizing agent. Many other choices of cleaning components are ofcourse possible, but in order to ease the description of the inventionthe combination of hydrogen peroxide and catalase is used in theexamples.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a container means 20 used for holding theneutralizing agent 25 comprises a second part 30 and two first parts 35.The neutralizing agent 25 is confined within an enclosed cavity 50defined by the first parts 35 and the second part 30. In this way ofconfining the neutralizing agent 25, the neutralizing agent 25 can haveany suitable form such as liquid, solid, particle, porous, concentrated,powder, pill, pellet or even gas. In case the neutralizing agent is afluid, a coating of the inner surface is needed. If such a coating isnot provided, the second part 30 will change its dimension caused byabsorbtion of the neutralizing fluid in the second part 30.

The size of the container means 20 should be large enough for containingan amount of the neutralizing agent 25, that is, in the case ofutilizing catalase as a neutralizing agent, typically of an internaldiameter of 5,5 mm and an internal height of 5 mm.

The diameter of the first parts 35 should be slightly larger than theinternal diameter of the second part 30 when that part has not beenexposed to the disinfection agent. This will enable a resiliency forceapplied to the edges of the first parts 35 holding the first parts 35 inthe position shown in FIG. 3 prior to and in the beginning of thedisinfection process.

The shape of the first parts 35 is actual not crucial for principle ofthe mode of operation of the container means 20 for holding aneutralizing agent. The first parts 35 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3have been given a 3-dimensional shape where the rim 40 of the firstparts 35 is deflected relative to the bottom surface 45 of the firstparts 35. The angle could be varied from 0° to 180° without destroyingthe principle of the mode of operation of the container means 20 forholding a neutralizing agent.

The first parts 35 can be made of any material which change dimensionwhen exposed to a fluid, but in such cases the expansion coefficient ofthe material should be lower than the expansion coefficient for thematerial used for the second part 30. The first parts 35 could of coursealso be made of a material which does not change dimension at all whenexposed to a fluid such as plastic, metal, glass, cellulose basedmaterial or polymer based material.

The container means 20 for holding a neutralizing agent could bemanufactured to have nearly any total density at all. For instance, thecontainer means 20 could be given a density lower than, similar to, oreven higher than that of the disinfection fluid, whereby the verticalposition of the container means 20 in the disinfection fluid can bepredetermined.

Due to the shape of the second part 30, the internal diameter of thatpart will increase when the second part 30 absorbs disinfection fluid orany fluid which can be absorbed by the material of which the second part30 is manufactured from. This is due to the fact that all of thematerial from which the second part 30 is made of will expand. In thefirst embodiment of the container means 20 the second part 30 is shownas being tubular shaped which, because expansion thereof when exposed toa fluid will increase the internal diameter of the second part 30.

Firstly, the use of the container means 20 holding the neutralizingagent 25 in the first embodiment will be discussed with reference toFIGS. 3-4. Later on, a similar discussion will be given with referenceto the 5 other embodiments of the invention.

During the cleaning process, the container means 20 holding theneutralizing agent 25 is placed inside a container for receiving acontact lens and a disinfection fluid.

Once the contact lens and the container means 20 have been placed insidethe container, disinfection fluid is poured into the container (or viceversa). When the disinfection fluid has been added, the second part 30begins to absorb the disinfection fluid.

As the inner surface of the second part 30 is not exposed to thedisinfection fluid or to any fluid at all, a transport process of fluidfrom the outer surface and from the end portion of the second part 30towards that inner surface of the second part 30 takes place followed byan expansion of the elements of the second part 30 which has beingwetted by the penetrating fluid.

Therefore, in the beginning of the cleaning process the expansion of thesecond part 30 will substantially occur in the outer parts of the secondpart 30 or the expansion rate will at least be slower than if the all ofthe surface of the second part 30 was exposed to the disinfection fluidor any fluid at all.

As a result of this, in combination with the fastening of the firstparts 35 to the inner sides of the second part 30 due to the resiliencyforce applied to the edges of the first parts 35, is that thedisinfection agent is not able to contact the neutralizing agent 25 inthe beginning of the disinfection process, whereby the neutralizing ofthe disinfection fluid is postponed, leaving a high concentration of thedisinfection fluid in a first period of the treatment process of thecontact lenses.

The point in time when disinfection agent gets into contact with theneutralizing agent is, among other factors, controlled by the thicknessof the second part and the diameter of the first parts 35 relative tothe internal diameter of the second part 30.

Generally, when other things being equal except the thickness of thesecond part 30, the point in time when the disinfection agent is ablecontact the neutralizing agent 25 located in the substantially closedcavity 50 due to the creation of a communication passage as a result ofthe expansion of the second part 30 is related to the thickness of thesecond part 30.

When a communication passage is created in the container means 20 due tothe expansion of the second part 30 and perhaps also the first parts 35,the neutralizing process is initiated.

A second embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralizingagent according to the invention is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodimenta first part 165 covers the openings of the second part 170 in the wayshown in FIG. 5. The straight part 175 of the first part 165 is intendedto be used to handle the container means once the container means isplaced in the container where the cleaning process is supposed to takeplace.

A third embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralizingagent according to the invention is shown in FIG. 6. In this embodiment,the first parts 39 extend beyond the second part 34. The first parts 39have an edge 60 and the internal diameter of the first parts 39 issmaller than the outer diameter of the second part 34 when that elementhas not been exposed to any fluid. When the first parts 39 are placed onthe top of the second part 34, a resiliency force due to a smallcompression of the second part and/or a deformation of the first parts39 will keep the first parts 39 in a proper position.

When the container means for holding a neutralizing agent is exposed tothe disinfection fluid, the second part 34 will begin to swell up. Asthe change of dimension of the first part 39 is lower than the change ofdimension of the second part 34, the larger deformation of the secondpart 34 will create a force on the edge of the first parts 39 with aforce component in the axial direction of the second part 34. Thiscomponent will, when it becomes large enough, force the first parts 39of the second part 34 away from the second part 34 leaving acommunication passage for the disinfection fluid to enter the cavitycontaining the neutralizing agent.

The first parts 39 and the second part 34 could also be manufactured insuch a way that the expansion coefficient of the first parts 39 islarger than the expansion coefficient of the second part 34. In thiscase, the internal diameter of the first parts 39 is larger than theexternal diameter of the second part 34 at the end of the expansionprocess whereby the first parts 39 are no longer fixed in position,thereby creating an internal communication passage.

A fourth embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralizingagent according to the invention is shown in FIG. 7.

In this embodiment, the second part 32 defines a cavity 55 wherein theneutralizing agent 25 is placed. The cavity 55 is closed by a first part37, similar to one of the first parts 35 used in the first embodiment ofcontainer means for holding a neutralizing agent.

The mode of operation of the fourth embodiment is similar to that of thefirst embodiment of the container means, i.e. as the second part 32 isexposed to a fluid, this part will swell up followed by an enlargementof the internal diameter of the second part 32. This enlargement will,if the expansion coefficient is larger for the second part 32 than forthe one of the first part 37, create a communication passage enablingthe fluid to get into contact with the disinfection substance inside thecavity 55.

It is, of course, possible to combine the features of the third and thefourth embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralizingagent in such a way that the first part 39 of the third embodiment isused instead of the shown first part 37 of the fourth embodiment or viceversa.

A fifth embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralizingagent according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 8-11. In thisembodiment the container means for holding the neutralizing agentcomprises a first part 65 and a second part 70 which both are shown ascircular members, but actually the shape of the two parts is not crucialfor the mode of operation of the fifth embodiment of the containermeans, and the two parts can be given any desired shape.

The first part 65 comprises two separating walls; an inner separatingwall 80 and an outer separating wall 75. These two separating wallsdefine two cavities; an inner cavity 85 and an outer cavity 90.

Like the first part 65, the second part 70 comprises two separatingwalls; an inner separating wall 95 and an outer separating wall 100.Upon assembly of the first part 65 and second part 70 in the mannershown in FIG. 9, two cavities are defined referred to as an inner cavity110 and an outer cavity 120.

In this embodiment of the container means, a resilient engagement of thefirst and the second part is achieved by the abutment of the outerseparating wall 100 of the second part 70 against the outer separatingwall 75 of the first part 65 and of the inner separating wall 95 of thesecond part 70 against the inner separating wall 80 of the first part65.

It should be quite clear that the first part 65 and the second part 70could be given any further separating walls than the two shown in theexamples shown in FIG. 9, and it should also be clear that only one setof separating walls could be used, whereby only one cavity is defined,but in case two cavities 110 and 120 are defined, different substancesusable in the disinfection process of the contact lenses could becontained in the cavities 110 and 120.

Also, in this embodiment of the container means, the first part 65 andthe second part 70 can be made of materials which have differentexpansion coefficients when exposed to a fluid. Again it is assumed thatthe expansion coefficient is lower for the first part 65 than for thesecond part 70, and the first part could of course be made from amaterial which substantially does not change dimension when exposed to afluid.

The outer diameter of the outer separating wall 75 is slightly largerthan the inner diameter of the outer separating wall 100 and the outerdiameter of the inner separating wall 80 is slightly larger than theinner diameter of the inner separating wall 95, whereby the first part65 and the second part 70 are firmly joined.

The mode of use of the fifth embodiment of the container means issketched in FIGS. 10-11 . The container means for holding substancesusable for the disinfection process is applied to a container (notshown) holding a fluid and the contact lenses (or other parts).

As shown in FIG. 10, the outer wall 100 of the second part 70 will, whenfluid permeates into the top of the second part 100 and into the outerwalls 100, be deflected outward leaving a communication passage 125 forthe fluid to enter the outer cavity 120 whereby contact is initiatedbetween the fluid and the substance located inside the outer cavity 120.

Due to the fact that the inner wall 95 of the second part 100 is exposedto fluid only after the communication passage 125 is formed by theoutward deflection of the outer wall 100, substantially no deformationof the inner wall 95 takes place under the initial deformation processof the outer wall 100.

As the fluid enters the outer cavity 120, the inner wall 95 will startto swell up. The absorbtion of fluid in the inner wall 95 of the secondpart 70 is followed by a further deformation of the second part 70 asshown in FIG. 11 forming another communication passage 130 enabling thefluid to enter the inner cavity 110.

This is due to (as shown in FIGS. 10-11) the way the second part 70deforms when it swell up.

As access to the outer cavity 120 and the inner cavity 110 is gainedsubsequently each other, a multiple cleansing process involving multiplesubstances that can not coexist is possible without any interferencefrom the user of the cleaning apparatus.

In one example, the two cavities 110, 120 could contain two differentenzymes needed in a cleaning and neutralizing process or the twocavities 110, 120 could contain a neutralizing agent and a substancee.g. salt changing the pH-value of the fluid, or the two cavities couldcontain a disinfection agent in the outer cavity 120 and a neutralizingagent in the inner cavity 110.

A sixth embodiment of a container means according to the invention isshown in FIGS. 12-14. Again the container means comprises a first part130 and a second part 135. Here, the first part 130 and the second part135 in the embodiment are shown cylindrical. It should be quite clearthat many other shapes of the first and the second parts 130, 135 arepossible.

The first part 130 comprises two cavities 140 and 145. These cavities140 and 145 can be given any desired form. Furthermore the volumes ofthe cavities 140 and 145 need not to be equal and can be made to matchthe amount of e.g. disinfection and neutralizing matters needed in adisinfection process. The first part 130 could of course comprise onlyone cavity 140 or three or more cavities.

The second part 135 of the embodiment is here shown as a hollow and openended cylinder with a small opening 150 opposite the open end. Thepurpose of the small opening 150 is to ease the assembly of thecontainer means. When the first part 130 is urged into the second part135, air is pushed out through the small opening 150; otherwise apressure would build up below at that end of the first part 130 whichhas been urged into the second part 135 rendering the assembly processof the first and the second parts 130, 135 difficult.

Again, the first part 130 and the second part 135 can be made frommaterials which change dimension when exposed to a fluid, and the rateof change of dimension of the material from which the part 130 is madefrom must be lower than the one of the second part 135 and can even besubstantially zero.

Access to the cavities 140, 145 is gained in the following way:

The container means is situated in a container suitable for thedisinfection process. The element to be disinfected is placed in thecontainer suitable for the disinfection process. As the fluid contactsthe outer surface of the second part 135, this part will swell upcausing the open end of the second part 135 to deflect in the way shownin FIG. 13. By that deflection, a communication passage 155 is createdwhereby the fluid can enter the cavity 140.

At the same time, as the fluid enters the cavity 140, the internalsurface of that part of the second part 135, which is deflected, is nowexposed to the fluid whereby the deflection is increased after some timecreating yet another communication passage 160.

As access to the outer cavity 120 and the inner cavity 110 is gainedsubsequent to each other, a multiple cleansing process, involvingsubstances that can not coexist, is possible without any interferencefrom the user of the cleaning apparatus.

In one example, the two cavities 110, 120 could contain two differentenzymes needed in a cleaning and neutralizing process or the twocavities 110, 120 could contain a neutralizing agent and a substancee.g. salt, changing the pH-value of the fluid, or the two cavities couldcontain a disinfection agent in the outer cavity 120 and a neutralizingagent in the inner cavity 110.

A seventh embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralisingagent according to the invention is shown in FIG. 15. In thisembodiment, a second part 210 covers the opening of a first part 230.The second part 210 is tubularly shaped having a rounded top part 215.Furthermore, the second part 210 has an engaging/abutment part 220 foruse in engaging or abutting the second and the first parts 210, 230. Inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the thickness of the secondpart 210 is smaller along the engaging/abutment part 220.

The first part 230 is, as the fist part 210 tubularly shaped with arounded bottom part, and the thickness of the first part 230 is keptconstant. In FIG. 15 the engaging/abutment part 220 of the second part210 is shown as a recess with straight sides, i.e. the wall of therecess has no projections.

As will follow from the description below, the formation of an openingin the eight embodiment of the container means does not depends on theabove-described exact shape of the engaging part 220.

By shaping the engaging/abutment part 220 as a recess, the bottom of therecess 245 will act as means for positioning the second part in acorrect, predetermined position relative to the first part, when thecontainer means is assembled/combined. Other shapes of the second andthe first parts 210, 230 will follow the same general principle(described below). One such other shape of the second part 210 could bea second part 210 with a substantially equal thickness distribution,eventually having a rectangular or square shaped cross section.Furthermore, the first part 230 could also be shaped to have arectangular or square shaped cross section.

The seventh embodiment of a container means according to the inventioncould also be made to comprise two second parts 210. In such a case, thefirst part 230 would also be tubular shaped but be open ended in bothends. By applying two second parts 210, the container means would beless sensible to its orientation when placed in a cup-shaped containerin the same way as described for the seventh embodiment of the containermeans.

Returning to the specific embodiment of the container means shown inFIGS. 15 and 16, normally the inner diameter of the second part 210measured along the engaging/abutment part 220 is made smaller than theexternal diameter of the first part 230 measured at a contact area 240,i.e. the location where the engaging/abutment part 220 contacts thefirst part 230 when the container means is assembled/combined.

By assembling/combining the container means by a second part 210 havinga smaller diameter than the first part 230, as described above, the twoparts 210, 230 will be biased against each other when assembled/combinedinto a container.

In some situations, the engaging part 220 of the second part 210comprises one or more projections, and the contact area 240 of the firstpart 230 comprises one or more corresponding cavities.

Such one or more projections together with the one or more correspondingcavities can guarantee a safer storage of the neutralising agent. If forinstance the container means is stored in a vibrating environment, asimple biasing of the two parts 210, 230 may not be sufficient to keepthe assembly/combination of the two parts together, but if the engagingpart is provided with projections, a more safe storage is achieved.

It is emphasised that the one or more projections applied along thecontact area 240 of the first part 230 and one or more correspondingcavities applied along the engaging part 220 of the second part 210 areequally well suited.

The projections could be triangularly shaped, rounded or any shapeproviding an engaging between the first and the second part 230, 210.

Again, the second part 210 is made of a material having a coefficient ofexpansion, when exposed to the fluid, being larger than the coefficientof expansion of the first part 230. Similar to the other embodiment ofthe container means according to the invention due to this difference inexpansion coefficients, the second part 210 swells more than the firstpart 230

Furthermore, due to the rounded shape of the top part 215 of the secondpart 210 combined with the situation that only the exterior of thesecond and the first parts 210, 230 is wetted initially, when embeddedin the disinfecting fluid, the expansion ensuing from the swelling ofdisinfecting fluid of the second part 210 and eventually the first part230 is not geometrical linear, in the sense of linear blow up, as isindicated in FIG. 16.

In FIG. 16, the seventh embodiment of the container means according tothe invention is shown in an open state. This state is reached after thesecond part 210 has expanded due to swelling of the fluid. As indicatedon FIG. 16 an opening is formed providing access for the fluid to theneutralising substance located inside the cavity of the first part 230.

Referring to FIG. 17, an eighth embodiment of the container means usedfor holding the neutralising agent inside a cavity 190 is shown. In thisembodiment, the container means is constituted by two second parts 180a,b and one first part 200. In this embodiment of the invention, thesecond parts 180 a,b are formed of a material expanding when in contactwith the disinfecting fluid, and the first part is formed of a materialnot expanding when in contact with the disinfecting fluid.

Also in this embodiment of the invention although preferred, it is notcrucial for the basic principle of the invention to form the first partof a material not expanding when in contact with the disinfecting fluid.The opening of the container means would be achieved as long as theexpansion coefficient of the second parts is greater than the expansioncoefficient of the first parts.

The use of the eight embodiment of the invention will now be describedin greater detail. The lenses, the cleaning fluid, and the containermeans are placed in a suitable receptacle for the cleaning andneutralising process, such as a cup-shaped receptacle. As the outersurface of the container means 185 is exposed to the cleaning fluid thesecond parts 180 a,b will start to absorb the fluid.

If the introduction of the container means 185 ended up in a position inthe cup-shaped receptacle whith one of the second parts, say 180 a, inthe vicinity of the wall parts of the cup-shaped receptacle, a gasbubble could be trapped between the wall part of the cup-shapedreceptacle and the second part 180 a. This situation will stop theabsorption of cleaning fluid of the second part 180 a, and if thecontainer means 185 according to this embodiment of the invention wasconstituted by only one second part 180 no acces to the netralisingagent would be provided for the cleaning fluid.

Furthermore, this situation would also occur in the case where the onlysecond part ended up in a situation abutting a wall part of thecup-shaped receptacle. One such situation could be when a containermeans having only one second part was positioned up side down in thesense of the only second part being in contact with the bottom of thecup-shaped receptacle.

Therefore, two or more distinctive outer surface of the container meansin the seventh embodiment of the invention is constituted by two secondparts 180 a,b. In this way it is practically impossible for thecontainer means to be situated in the cup-shaped container in a mannerwhere both second parts 180 a,b are hindered from contacting thecleaning fluid.

As the second part 180 absorbs the disinfecting fluid, the second partexpands and because the first part 180 does not expand as much as thesecond part 180, a bending of the second part 180 takes place providinga convex shape to the second part 180 as seen in FIG. 17.

At an instant which can be controlled by the thickness of the secondparts 180 a,b, at least one of the second parts 180 a,b springs awayfrom the container means, or an opening is formed in the container meansif the second parts 180 a,b are still be maintained in the first part200. In the case where the at least one of the second parts 180 a,bsprings away from the container means, the cleaning fluid has anun-restricted passage to the neutralising agent, and the fluid willrapidly react with the neutralizing agent whereby the neutraling processis initiated.

In the case where an opening is formed, the cleaning fluid has anrestricted passage to the neutralising agent but this will not preventthe reaction between the fluid and the neutralising agent. In this case,a gas bubble is created by the effect of the reaction and such a bubblewill push away the second part 180.

Furthermore, the eighth embodiment of the container means according tothe invention may comprises beads 187 as shown on FIG. 17. Such beads187 will prevent the second part 180 from unintentional by leaving thefirst part 200 and the beads may also serve the purpose of controllingthe leaving process of the second part 180.

A ninth embodiment of the container means for holding a neutralisingagent according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 18-20. In thisembodiment the container means is assembled/combined by a circularsecond part 260 and a circular first part 270.

The first part 270 comprises an interior convex part 275, a side part280 having a projection 285 and a flat part 290. The second part 260 isalso disc shaped with a basin 305 and serves as a lid closing the convexpart 275 of the first part 270 thereby defining a sealed cavity forholding a substance used in the disinfecting process when the two parts270, 260 are combined/assembled into the container means.

In this embodiment, the second part 260 is made of a material having acoefficient of expansion, when exposed to the fluid, being larger thanthe coefficient of expansion of the first part 270. Similar to otherembodiments of the container means according to the invention, thesecond part 260 swells more than the first part 270 due to thisdifference in expansion coefficients. Furthermore, the first part couldbe made of a material having a coefficient of expansion of zero; i.e.the part will not swell.

Also in this embodiment of the invention, the internal diameter of thesecond part 260 is slightly smaller than the external diameter of thefirst part 270. By forming the two parts 260, 270 with differentdiameters, the two parts 260, 270 will be biased against each other whenthe container means is assembled/combined. This biasing of the two parts260, 270 can retain them in a predetermined position relative to eachother.

In order to secure the two parts 260, 270 in a predetermined positionrelative to each other, a projection 285 is provided on the side part280 of the first part 270. A cavity 300 corresponding to the projection285 is provided in the sidewall defining the basin 305. Uponassembly/combination of the two parts 260, 270 into the container meansthe two parts will engage with each other by means of the projection andcavity, whereby the second part 260 will be secured to the first part290. Such a security is appreciated when the container means is exposedto for instance a rough handling occurring during transportation.

The ninth embodiment of the container means is preferably maintained ina predetermined orientation during cleaning of contact lenses and thesubsequent neutralising of the cleaning substance. This preferredpredetermined orientation of the container means is the orientationwhere the action of the gravity acts in the direction substantiallyparallel to the surface of the flat part 290 i.e. the orientation ofgravity will with reference to FIGS. 18-20 be from the top of the figureto the bottom of the figure.

By orienting the container means relative to the orientation of thegravity as described above two valuable features are achieved. Firstly,the gravity will drag the second part away from convex part 275 when thesecond part 260 has swelled leaving unhindered access to theneutralising substance located therein. Secondly, since it in some casesare preferred to use a powdered neutralising agent, this powder willfall out of the convex part 275 after gravity has dragged the secondpart 260 away from the first part 270. These two features will preventthe access for the fluid to the neutralizing agent to be blocked.

Such a blocking could occur for instance if the container means wasoriented with the gravity acting normal to the surface of the flat part290. The blocking could be in the form of the second part 260 if thispart does not change its position relative to the first part 270 butonly swells. This situation could occur if no disinfecting fluid comesin contact with the neutralising agent inside the container means afterthe second part 260 has swelled.

On the other hand, this situation could also occur even if disinfectingfluid has entered the cavity inside the container means after the secondpart 260 has swelled. When the disinfecting fluid enters the cavityinside the container a gas bubble could be generated which could betrapped by the second part 260 whereby the bubble is not able to escapethe cavity. If such a bubble is trapped, no new disinfecting fluid canenter the cavity inside the container means and the neutralising processwill stop.

It should be noted that this interruption of the neutralising process isnot the most common situation, but if a fail safe system is the aim, itis preferred that the container means is orientated such that the earthgravity acts in the direction along the surface of the flat part 290 asdescribed above.

By orientating the container means in its most preferred orientation,the following opening process will take place after the container meansand disinfecting fluid is placed in for instance a cup-shaped containerused for disinfecting of lenses. Immediately after contact with thedisinfecting fluid the second part 260 starts to swell whereby theinternal diameter of the second part 260 will increase. When theinternal diameter has increased a gap will be formed between the secondand the first parts 260, 270 whereby the disinfecting fluid gets incontact with the neutralising agent through this gap. As thedisinfecting fluid reacts with the neutralising agent, gas will becreated and this gas will push on the bottom part of the basin 305whereby the second part will be displaced relative to the first part270. When the second part is displaced so much that is does no longerrest on the side part 280 of the first part 270 gravity will drag itaway leaving free access for the disinfecting fluid to the neutralisingagent.

As indicated on FIGS. 18-20 the ninth embodiment of the container meanshas a quite small aspect ratio, i.e. the ratio of the thickness and thediameter of the container means is quite small. The small aspect ratiowill help to minimise the risk of a gas bubble sticking to the containermeans. If, on the other hand, the container means was provided with avery large aspect ratio, the laid open surface of the neutralising agentafter the second part 305 has swelled will intensify the risk of a gasbubble sticking to the laid open surface of the neutralising agent andthereby interrupt the neutralising process. Large aspect ratios willsimilarly intensify the risk of a gas bubble sticking to the surface ofthe second part 305, thereby interrupting the swelling process.

In FIG. 21, the ninth embodiment of the container means according to theinvention constitutes a part of an orientation means 300 for orientatingthe container means in a predetermined direction relative to areceptacle (not shown) used for the holding the lenses, the cleaningfluid and the container means during cleaning and subsequentneutralising. The second part of the container means is in FIG. 21denoted 305 and the first part 310, respectively, 310 a and 310 b.

The orientation means 300 comprises two parts, 300 a and 300 b which inthe figure is shown to be of similar shape, which is not necessarilypreferred. In a preferred embodiment used for single use, the two partscannot be separated.

In another embodiment, the two parts 300 a,b are hingedly connected toeach other by a hinge means 312, which preferably is an integral part ofthe container means 300. Such an integral part is in the embodimentshown in FIG. 21 provided by manufacturing the two orientation means 300is a single piece in which the thickness of the material constitutingthe hinge means is made thinner than the rest of the retaining means 300leaving the part of the retaining means 300 more flexible than the restof the retaining means 300.

Furthermore, the two parts are maintained in the position relative toeach other, shown in FIG. 21, by engaging means (not shown). Theengaging means is for instance a hook connected to part 300 a engagingwith a corresponding part on part 300 b.

The outer surface of the two parts 300 a,b is porous such that thecleaning fluid can get into contact with the second part 305. Manychoices of porous surfaces are available, but in the ninth embodiment ofcontainer means this porosity is provided by slits in the outer surfacesof the parts 300 a,b.

Placing the container means inside a orientation means in the way shownin FIG. 22 provides another very important aspect of the container meansaccording to the invention. As described above, the second part 305swells up and is dragged away from the first part 310 a by the gravity.As the second part 305 is not able to escape the orientation means 300the risk that a user by a mistake takes the second part as a contactlens and introduces this second part 305 into his eye is eliminated.Such a confinement of the second part 305 also limits the degree ofswelling of the second part. Such a limitation is appreciated in caseswhere the second part 305 is made of a material expanding a lot wherebythe second part could end up taking up a large amount of the volume inthe receptacle which is used in the cleaning process as described above.

A further manner of reducing eliminating this risk is to colouring thesecond and eventually also the first part with a colour rendering iteasy for the user to distinguish the parts from the lenses. Thecolouring of the parts could of course also be applied to the otherembodiments of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 21, two first parts 310 a,b are provided in theorientation means 300 such that two containers means are available, ifthe other first part is provided with a second part. The use of twocontainer means is advantageous in cases where two different substancesare desired to be released and where such two substances not can bestored in contact with each other due to e.g. chemical reactions betweenthem, or if the two substances are desired to be released at twodifferent points in time. The last situation can be achieved byproviding the second parts with different thickness and is e.g. useful,if the disinfecting/cleaning fluid is generated by a substance kept inone of the container means and the subsequent neutralising process is bythe account of the substance kept in the other container means.

In FIG. 22, the orientation means 300 is enclosed in an enclosing means325. As this enclosing means has an inner surface with a differentradius of curvature than the outer surface of the retaining means 300the enclosing provides receptacles 315 a,b for receiving and holding thelenses 320 a,b to be cleaned.

By placing the lenses close to the container means, a high concentrationof the substance kept in the container in the fluid close to the lenseswhereby a very efficient neutralising process is provided, or if thesubstance kept in the container means is a substance used for generatingthe cleaning/disinfecting fluid a very efficient cleaning process isachieved. Furthermore, if two container means holding respectively acleaning fluid generating substance and neutralising substance areprovided, both processes will be very efficient.

The two parts 330 a,b of the enclosing means 325 are hingedly connectedto each other and retained in the relative position to each other by ahinge means 335 as described above for the orientation means 300,whereby access to receptacles is provided by pulling to two parts 330a,b away from each other. Furthermore, the two parts of the orientationmeans 300 a,b can be made integral parts of the two parts 330 a,brespectively.

The enclosing means 325 is similar to the orientation means 300 madeporous by slits provided in the outer surface of the enclosing means. Inthis manner the cleaning fluid has an un-restricted access to both thecontact lenses to be used and to the second part 305 of the containermeans for holding a substance used for neutralising the cleaning fluid.

The combination of container means, orientation means 300 and enclosingmeans 325 into a single unit makes the use of such a unit very simple.Furthermore, the shape of the parts constituting such a unit are easilyhandled by ordinary plastic moulding process such as blow moulding anddue to the fact that the production price for such a unit is very lowwhen large amounts are manufactured the unit can be disposed after useavoiding the demand for cleaning the container means after use.

The orientation means and/or the enclosing means can furthermore beprovided with engaging means coorperating with with a receptacle usedfor cleaning the contact lenses. By use of such engaging means theorientation means and/or the enclosing means can be retained in apredetermined direction relative to vertical, such as described above,by retaining them relative to the rececptacle which in turn has apredetermined orientation.

These engaging means can be made such that the orientation means and/orthe enclosing means can be placed therein before the cleaning process isinitiated, or as in a case where the receptacle, the orientation meansand the enclosing means is and integral unit, be a integral part of oneor each of the means. In the first case the, engaging means could be acavity having the shape of the bottom parts (the parts in the vicinityof the hinge means 312 or 335) of the orientation means or enclosingmeans respectively so as to make a close fit between the aforementhioned cavity and bottom parts.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container which is suitable for holding atleast one substance for use in a process for cleaning contact lensesusing a fluid, the container comprising: at least one first and at leastone second part assembled to form a sealed cavity for holding at leastone substance, wherein the first part: is formed of a material having afirst expansion coefficient when embedded in the fluid, and is at leastsubstantially insoluble in the fluid, wherein the second part: is formedof a material having a second expansion coefficient when embedded in thefluid and is at least substantially insoluble in the fluid, and has anouter surface constituting a portion of an outer surface of thecontainer, wherein: the first expansion coefficient is smaller than thesecond expansion coefficient, wherein: the container has at least oneof: a) cross section wherein the first part defines an envelope curveand wherein at least one portion of the second part extends outside anenvelope surface, and b) two or more portions of the outer surface ofthe assembled container are constituted by surface parts of the secondpart at at least two different sides thereof, and wherein: the materialsof the first and the second parts are so that an initial, unexpandedsheet of the material of the second part will expand to a sheet of amean thickness of at least 105% of the mean thickness of a fullyexpanded sheet of the material of the first part and of the same initialunexpanded thickness.
 2. A container according to claim 1, wherein thedimensioning of the first and the second parts and the first and thesecond expansion coefficients are chosen so that, subsequent to theexpansion of the first and/or the second parts, an opening is definedbetween first and second parts.
 3. A container according to any of theclaim 1, wherein the first part defines an open cavity and wherein thesecond part defines a cover at least substantially closing the cavity ofthe first part.
 4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the secondpart abuts the first part along an inner or an outer surface partthereof.
 5. A container according to claim 3, wherein the second partabuts the first part along an end surface part thereof.
 6. A containeraccording to claim 5, wherein the first and second parts are biasedtoward each other at the part of the end surface part.
 7. A containeraccording to claim 3, wherein the second part has a tubular part anouter edge portion of which is exposed to the fluid.
 8. A containeraccording to claim 7, wherein the first part is positioned so as toclose the tubular part at the outer edge portion thereof.
 9. A containeraccording to claim 8, wherein the first part defines a plurality of opencavities, the second part defining a cover at least substantiallyclosing the cavities of the first part.
 10. A container according toclaim 9, wherein the plurality of open cavities are positioned at leastsubstantially concentrically and are separated by separating walls ofthe first part.
 11. A container according to claim 10, wherein thetubular part encircles an outer cavity of the open cavities.
 12. Acontainer according to claim 11, wherein the first and second parts arebiased toward each other at the separating walls of the first part andinternal biasing means of the second part, the separating walls and thebiasing means closing, at least in an unexpanded state, one of thecavities of the first part.
 13. A container according to claim 9,wherein the plurality of open cavities are aligned side by side in thefirst part, the open cavities being separated by separating walls.
 14. Acontainer according to claim 13, wherein the tubular part is positionedso as to have an axis of symmetry along the aligned open cavities.
 15. Acontainer according to claim 8, wherein the outer edge portion ispositioned at least substantially within a plane.
 16. A containeraccording to claim 8, wherein, at the outer edge portion, the secondpart has, compared to a main part of the second part, a largerproportion of the part of the surface thereof to be exposed to a fluidin relation to the volume of the material.
 17. A container according toclaim 1, wherein the first and second parts are biased toward eachother.
 18. A container according to claim 17, wherein the first and thesecond parts are shaped so as to be combined without the use of anyseparate fixing or combining means.
 19. A container according to claim1, wherein the first expansion coefficient is one where a sheet of thematerial of the first part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpandedcondition will expanded to a mean thickness of 0.5-10 mm, when fullyexpanded in the fluid.
 20. A container according claim 1, wherein thesecond expansion coefficient is one where a sheet of the material of thefirst part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpanded condition willexpand to a mean thickness of 0.5-10 mm, when fully expanded in thefluid.
 21. A container according to claim 20, wherein the material ofthe second part is so that an initial, unexpanded sheet of the materialof the second part and of a predetermined thickness will expand to asheet of a mean thickness of at least 110% to about 140% of the meanthickness of a fully expanded sheet of the material of the firstmaterial and of the same initial unexpanded thickness.
 22. A containeraccording to claim 20, wherein the first part is provided with means forfacilitating deformation or breaking thereof at one or morepredetermined points or along one or more predetermined lines.
 23. Acontainer according to claim 1, wherein the at least one part of thesecond part(s) extending outside the envelope surface has a part beingconvex.
 24. A container according to claim 1, wherein the containerfurther comprises orientation means for orientation of the containerrelative to the horizontal direction when positioned in a receptacle,the receptacle being adapted to hold the container, the contact lens,and the fluid when the contact lenses are cleaned.
 25. A containeraccording to claim 24, wherein the orientation means is adapted toorient the container with its axis of symmetry being substantiallyhorizontal.
 26. A container according to claim 24, wherein theorientation means further comprises enclosing means for enclosing thecontainer.
 27. A container according to claim 26, wherein the enclosingmeans comprise a porous fluid penetrable means adapted to allow thefluid to travel into the enclosing means and to prevent at least a majorpart of the expanded second part from escaping the enclosing means. 28.A container according to claim 27, wherein the orientation means furthercomprises means for holding the contact lenses during cleansing thereof.29. A container according to claim 1, wherein the container is flat in agiven direction when compared with an extension thereof in twodirections which are perpendicular thereto and to each other.
 30. Acontainer according to claim 29, wherein the extension of the containeralong the given direction is at least 2 times smaller than the extensionof the container along any one of the two directions.
 31. A containeraccording to claim 29, where the extension of the container in the givendirection is less than 2 mm.
 32. A container according to claim 31,wherein the first part defines a cavity having a bottom part and sideparts and wherein the second part in the assembled container closes thecavity of the first part.
 33. A container according to claim 32, whereinan internal height of the side parts from an internal surface part ofthe bottom part is less than 2 mm.
 34. A container according to claim33, wherein the container has an axis of symmetry directed at leastsubstantially along the direction of the height of the side parts of thesecond part.
 35. A container according to claim 34, wherein the secondpart defines a cavity, the cavity having a depth in the direction of theaxis of symmetry, not exceeding 2 mm.
 36. A container according to claim34, wherein the second part defines a cavity, the cavity being shaped sothat, when the axis of symmetry is at least substantially horizontal, nopart of the inner surface of the cavity is horizontal.
 37. A containercontaining at least one neutralising agent for neutralising a fluidduring a contact lenses cleaning process using a fluid and/or at leastone disinfecting and/or cleansing agent generating a disinfecting and/orcleansing fluid during a contact lenses cleaning process using a fluid,the container comprising: at least one first and at least one secondpart assembled to form a sealed cavity for holding the at least onesubstance, wherein: the first part is formed of a material having afirst expansion coefficient when embedded in the fluid and is at leastsubstantially insoluble in the fluid, wherein: the second part is formedof a material having a second expansion coefficient when embedded in thefluid and is at least substantially insoluble in the fluid, the secondpart having an outer surface constituting a part of an outer surface ofthe container, wherein: the first expansion coefficient is smaller thanthe second expansion coefficient, and wherein: the container has atleast one of: a) a cross section wherein the first part defines anenvelope curve and wherein at least one portion of the second partextends outside an envelope surface, and b) two or more parts of theouter surface of the assembled container are constituted by surfaceportions of the second part at at least two different sides thereof, andat least one agent is contained in the sealed cavity.
 38. A containeraccording to claim 1, wherein the first expansion coefficient is onewhere a sheet of the material of the first part having a thickness of 1mm in an unexpanded condition will expand to a mean thickness of 0.7-1.5mm, when fully expanded in the fluid.
 39. A container according to claim1, wherein the first expansion coefficient is one where a sheet of thematerial of the first part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpandedcondition will expand to a mean thickness of preferably 1.0 mm, whenfully expanded in the fluid.
 40. A container according to claim 1,wherein the second expansion coefficient is one where a sheet of thematerial of the first part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpandedcondition will expand to a mean thickness of 1.2-5 mm, when fullyexpanded in the fluid.
 41. A container according to claim 1, wherein thesecond expansion coefficient is one where a sheet of the material of thefirst part having a thickness of 1 mm in an unexpanded condition willexpand to a mean thickness of 1.4 mm, when fully expanded in the fluid.42. A container according to claim 29, wherein the extension of thecontainer along the given direction is at least 3 times smaller than theextension of the container along any one of the two directions.
 43. Acontainer according to claim 29, wherein the extension of the containeralong the given direction is at least 4 times smaller than the extensionof the container along any one of the two directions.
 44. A containeraccording to claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along thegiven direction is at least 5 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 45. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 6 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 46. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 6 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 47. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 10 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 48. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 20 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 49. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 30 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 50. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 50 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 51. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 70 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 52. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 85 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 53. A container accordingto claim 29, wherein the extension of the container along the givendirection is at least 100 times smaller than the extension of thecontainer along any one of the two directions.
 54. A container accordingto claim 29, where the extension of the container in the given directionis less than 1.5 mm.
 55. A container according to claim 29, where theextension of the container in the given direction is less than 1 mm. 56.A container according to claim 29, where the extension of the containerin the given direction is less than about 0.75 mm.
 57. A containeraccording to claim 29, where the extension of the container in the givendirection is less than 0.5 mm.
 58. A container according to claim 29,where the extension of the container in the given direction is less than0.3 mm.
 59. A container according to claim 32, wherein an internalheight of the side parts from an internal surface part of the bottompart is less than 1.5 mm.
 60. A container according to claim 32, whereinan internal height of the side parts from an internal surface part ofthe bottom part is less than 0.75 mm.
 61. A container according to claim32, wherein an internal height of the side parts from an internalsurface part of the bottom part is less than 0.5 mm.
 62. A containeraccording to claim 32, wherein an internal height of the side parts froman internal surface part of the bottom part is less than 0.2 mm.
 63. Acontainer according to claim 34, wherein the second part defines acavity, the cavity having a depth in the direction of the axis ofsymmetry, not exceeding 1.5 mm.
 64. A container according to claim 34,wherein the second part defines a cavity, the cavity having a depth inthe direction of the axis of symmetry, not exceeding 1 mm.
 65. Acontainer according to claim 34, wherein the second part defines acavity, the cavity having a depth in the direction of the axis ofsymmetry, not exceeding 0.5 mm.
 66. A container according to claim 34,wherein the second part defines a cavity, the cavity having a depth inthe direction of the axis of symmetry, not exceeding 0.1 mm.